Charles City School District approves petition language for high school bond referendum

Board also sets calendar for 22/23 school year

By Travis Fischer, tkfischer@charlescitypress.com

The Charles City Community School Board approved the petition language for the planned High School Facilities Project during its regular meeting on Monday, Nov. 28.

Deciding on the petition language is the next step toward the goal of having voters approve funding for a $27.6 million renovation to the high school building, which includes the construction of a new auditorium.

The statement will be the language used when collecting signatures and will ultimately be placed on the ballot if a special election is held. It reads as follows:

“Shall the Board of Directors of the Charles City Community School District in the Counties of Chickasaw and Floyd, State of Iowa, be authorized to contract indebtedness and issue General Obligation Bonds in an amount not to exceed $27,635,000 to provide funds to construct an auditorium addition to the High School Building and to renovate, remodel, repair, improve, expand, furnish and equip portions of the existing High School Building, including theater and gymnasium spaces, all common spaces, classrooms, HVAC and electrical systems, administrative office space, and security improvements, and to improve the site?”

The language of the petition was approved in a 4-1 vote with board members Pat Rottinghaus, Kathryn Fox, Josh Mack, and Janiece Bergland voting in favor and Dr. David Schrodt voting against.

The cost of the project has been a controversial point on the board throughout this process, with Schrodt continually expressing concern about the school initiating another major project while still paying down previous ones and the impact it will have on property owners.

“$27.6 million is not all that we’ve spent in the last 10 years,” said Schrodt. “That’s a lot of money that we’re asking them to spend.”

The bond would assess $2.70 per $1,000 in taxable property value for residential property owners in the district over the next 10 years. In practical terms, this means that a home valued at $150,000 would be assessed an additional $206.13 per year or $17.18 per month, once the net taxable valuation is considered.

A table detailing how the bond will impact homes of various values can be found on the school website. The table also shows the impact on multi-residential, commercial, and agricultural property.

While the expense of the facility project was acknowledged, so was what board members said was its need, with supporters saying the cost for the same project would only increase if delayed and that considerable effort had been made in keeping it scaled to the school’s budget.

“It’s as modest as we can get it, I think, and still do what we need to do,” said board President Rottinghaus.

With petition language approved, the district has until January to collect signatures from registered voters in the district amounting to at least 25% of the number of voters that participated in the last school election. From there, the district will be able to put the matter to a vote in a special election in March.

“We want it to be community driven,” said Fox.

In other business, the board held a public hearing and approved the calendar for the 2022/23 school year.

The first day of school is scheduled for Wednesday, Aug. 23, with the end of the semester on Thursday, Dec. 21, leading into winter break. School will be out through the New Year, with classes resuming on Thursday, Jan. 4.

K-12 conferences will be done differently this year, going until 7:30 p.m. on March 5 and 7. This will allow both students and teachers to take the day off on Friday, March 8, getting an early start on Spring Break, which will run until the 4th quarter begins on Monday, March 18.

Graduation day is scheduled for May 19 followed by a tentative last day of May 23. The calendar has enough instructional hours built into it to allow for three missed days of school during the year and a fourth day can be made up for by sacrificing a professional learning day on April 12. Any missed days beyond that will have to be made up at the end of the year.

Also for the new year, the board approved a low bid of $129,241 for a new 71-passenger school bus from School Bus Sales.

The board also approved bids from Midwest Roofing for three upcoming roof projects. Roof work on the southeast corner and northwest corner of the Washington school building and the high school weight room were approved at a cost of $136,900, $108,900, and $64,000 respectively.

In director’s reports, the board heard from Director of Technology April Hanson, who gave a presentation on internet security. Hanson detailed the efforts made to keep the school’s network secure, from mandating two-factor authentication to having teachers and staff complete training modules on cyber security. Hanson also reported that the school’s computers have software that can shut them down if they detect activity indicating that they’ve been compromised.

Activities Director Dana Sullivan also made a report to the board, updating members on what she has been working on and what her goals are for the activities department. Emphasizing the importance of giving attention to all activities, from athletics to performing arts, Sullivan said she has made an effort to personally connect with every activity lead who has a winter event.

Sullivan said she has also been working on collecting feedback on school sportsmanship, being proactive about making sure that visiting referees are able to easily respond to post-game surveys.

Finally, Director of Finance Evan Marten, who was newly reappointed as board secretary and treasurer at the meeting, gave his mid-year goal presentation. Marten noted that, among other things, the school has been able to lower property tax costs in the district by 0.59% this year.